I'm Scared of Men
by Kaoru Kagura
Summary: Nishima Setsuna is afraid of the most intimidating men. When she first enters Saotome Academy's S-Class, she is immediately frightened by Kurusu Syo. While she tries her hardest to get as far away from him as possible, Setsuna finds herself getting more involved in his life than she should be. Syo/OC
1. First Day of School

**Hello there Utapri fans! From what I see, not too many people make OC fanfics much anymore. But I really don't care! I am doing this anyways!**

**I do not own Uta no Prince-sama! Although I wish I did, I don't.**

The girl with mid-back, raven black hair tied in two low pigtails walked nervously to the S-Classroom. Her cerulean eyes darted from side to side.

"Setsuna!"

She turned around to see a girl with short auburn hair and green eyes excitingly approaching her. She smiled at Setsuna, who sheepishly returned it. "Eriko-san, what class do you have?"

Eriko giggled. "I'm in the A-Class. What about y—" Setsuna looked like she was about to cry. "W-what's wrong?!"

"I-I'm not in the same class as you! I-I'm . . . I'm not going to know anyone there, Eriko-san!" she cried.

"It's fine, Setsuna! I thought this would happen, so I want you to meet someone." She looked behind her shoulder. "Oh, good timing. Miura-kun, hey!"

A boy noticed her call and headed towards the two. He had messy black hair and maroon eyes behind rimless glasses. A shiver ran down Setsuna's spine as she turned to Eriko. "A-a b-b-boy!? You know that—"

"I know, Setsuna, but think about it! Being in Saotome Academy means that you'll need to interact with guys too!"

"B-but—"

"Um . . . you're Nishima, right?" the boy interrupted. "She didn't tell me every detail about it, but Nakamura told me that you didn't like guys."

Setsuna, who was shaking timidly answered, "W-well . . . I-I-it's not that I don't like them . . . I'm actually just a bit s-s-scared of them . . ."

"I won't do anything to you, I swear! I would be more than happy to help you get over this fear." He smiled at Setsuna.

Eriko also smiled. "I'm just trying to help you, Setsuna. We're just going to ease you into being with men, starting with Miura-kun. I'm gonna head to my class. You stick with him and go to class, okay? See you later!" She didn't wait for her response and jogged off.

"Um . . . I don't think you and I had a proper introduction," he said as they walked to the S-Classroom. "I'm Miura Shinnosuke, but a lot of people call me Shin instead. I'm taking the Composer Course."

"I-I . . . I . . . um, N-Nishima Setsuna. C-Composer . . .," she said with an unsure tone.

"There's no reason for you to be so stiff."

"B-but I –"

"Hey, there's the classroom!"

Shinnosuke and Setsuna entered the classroom, finding that there were small name cards to the desks. Setsuna found her chair in the second row from the door in the second seat from the front.

"Hey, Nishima, I get to sit by you!" Shinnosuke said happily, taking the seat in the third row. He could tell that he relieved a bit of her nervousness. "To be honest, I'm in the same boat as you. W-well, I'm not scared of girls, I mean. But I don't know anyone else in this class. That's why I'm happy that Nakamura told me about you."

"M-me too!" Setsuna blurted. "I-I was happy to know that y-you'll help me with my fear." She fiddled shyly with her fingers.

The two saw a blonde boy with a fedora and clear azure eyes enter the classroom. He wasn't too hard to miss. He was screaming at a significantly taller man (who everyone knew to be Jinguji Ren) angrily about being called a munchkin. The furious look Setsuna saw in the blonde's eyes made Setsuna shake.

"Nishima, what's wrong?" He followed her gaze and nodded understandingly. "Don't worry; you have a friend to lean on right here!" Shinnosuke pointed his thumb at himself confidently.

She gulped, nodding at him. The blonde boy began to look for his name on the desks, which was behind Shinnosuke. Setsuna kept her eyes glued to the chalkboard and bit her lip a little. Shinnosuke noticed how stiff she was before seeing that the blonde was approaching the seat behind him.

When he sat down, he tapped Shinnosuke's shoulder. When he turned he asked, "Hey, you think you can spare me some lead?" He pointed to his mechanical pencil.

"Sorry, man, I'm out too," he laughed. He saw him eyeing Setsuna. _Uh-oh._

"Hey, you!"

Setsuna turned nervously. "Y-y-ye-yes?"

"You got any lead?"

She nodded, getting out the little container of lead from her pencil pouch and handed it to him. She turned back to the board. "Y-you can keep it," she said barely above a whisper.

He raised his brows. "Are you sure?" He saw her nod. "Well, thanks! I'm Syo by the way."

Shinnosuke noticed that Setsuna's skin was paling. "I-I'm Shinnosuke, but call me Shin. That's Nishima Setsuna. Sorry, her voice isn't too good today."

"Yikes! You're not in the idol course, are you?"

She shook her head, not daring to turn around. Syo was about to ask about why she wasn't looking at him, but as he opened his mouth, the classroom lights shut off and the curtains closed simultaneously.

"Everyone, take your seats!" A spotlight (from who knows where) focused on a man behind the teacher's desk. He immediately introduced himself as Hyuga Ryuya, but it wasn't needed since he was a famous idol. He used his time to explain everything about the school.

Setsuna saw Syo slip his hat off and place it under his desk. _That's right! Students can't wear hats during class . . . then what's the point in bringing it if you're just going to take it off?_

**~~Lunch~~**

"Setsuna! Miura-kun!" Eriko called on the way to the cafeteria. The two stopped and waited for her to catch up before getting into the lunch line. "So how's your class so far?"

"I really like this school. It's really overwhelming me right now." Shinnosuke said. Setsuna agreed with him and nodded. When they got their trays of food, they sat down at a table.

Eriko sat across from the two. "Anyways, how was Setsuna, Miura-kun? Is there anyone I should look out for?"

He smiled. "She was fine. I was able to get a conversation with her, but there were some guys that really freaked her out."

"W-w-well, they were a kinda scary . . ."

Her face turned serious. "Really? Who?"

"Our teacher Hyuga Ryuya and that kid who sits behind me. What's his name . . .? Nishima, do you know?"

"K . . . K-kurusu Syo-kun, I believe."

"Really? What does he look like?" Eriko asked.

Shinnosuke looked around before pointing to Syo, who was in the lunch line. "He's the one in the hat."

Hesitantly, Setsuna turned around slightly to see the line from the corner of her eye to see a guy in glasses with wavy hair waving at her. She didn't feel so scared or intimidated by him and smiled shyly. Then Syo turned the same way as the other guy and looked at her with furrowed brows. Setsuna turned back to Eriko with a pale face.

"Hm . . . well, he does seem like the kind she's really scared of, but you can do it, Setsuna!" Eriko cheered.

"What? There's a type?" Shinnosuke raised a brow.

Setsuna nodded. "I'm not really scared of all men . . . I'm not scared of men younger than me or are really kindhearted. L-like that one beside Kurusu-kun in glasses."

Eriko looked behind Setsuna. "I know him! He's Shinomiya Natsuki and he's in my class. Before school he tackled this guy like a ninja! He said something about a dog or a woman named Elizabeth. I don't know; I wasn't paying much attention."

"W-well, Shinomiya-kun does seem nice . . . he's not so scary . . . right, Eriko-san?"

"Nah, he said, and I quote, that he loves small and cute things. I honestly think you'll like him."

"Nishima . . . after talking to me, you're not afraid of me, right?" Shinnosuke said a bit scared.

She smiled. "N-not very. B-but at first, I can't lie when I say I was still nervous. You are the first friend I made in this school, after all. But I think I'm getting used to you."

"Oh, that's a relief! Thank goodness we're all friends now!" he laughed. The rest of the lunch was a cheerful experience.

**~~After classes, Girl's Dormitory~~**

The afternoon classes were replaced by a tour of the school by their teacher.

When the classes were over, Setsuna left immediately to unpack her boxes. She shared a room with Eriko. The room came with a bed, bookcase, and a desk for each girl. Since Setsuna was following the composer course, she had an upright piano beside her desk.

"Oh, Setsuna! Looks like you and I had the same idea. I didn't want to take care of it later . . . but I don't want to take care of it now!" Eriko complained, walking up to the door.

She laughed, opening the door with the key and seeing all of the boxes of items from their home. "We need to organize for tomorrow, so let's get it over with now, okay?"

Eriko grumbled a bit before nodding and walking into the room with her. They both took out their list of things that they brought and began to unpack the boxes.

**~~A little later~~**

About two hours later, they've eaten dinner and they were almost done with packing.

"I-It's not here . . ."

Eriko looked at her roommate curiously, hanging some clothes in her closet. "What?"

"My box with my photo albums and music box isn't here! I've finished unpacking and I haven't chescked it off yet! W-what do I do?! I can't live without my music box . . ." She was about to cry.

Eriko, knowing how important that music box was to her, came up to Setsuna to pat her back reassuringly. "C-calm down, Setsuna. I'm sure we'll find it!"

**~~At the Boy's Dormitory~~**

"Phew! I've finally finished!" Natsuki sighed cheerfully.

"Hm?" Syo was organizing his desk. "There's still one more box. It's not mine. My checklist's done."

"Really? I thought it was yours." Natsuki crouched down next to the box, which was marked fragile. "The initials are SN, but mine are NS. It's for the girl's dormitory for room 435."

"How 'bout we open it?" He got out his scissors and cut the tape off. "There's gotta be a name in there."

"Should we really open it? It's not ours so . . ."

"Well, we won't know who to return this to unless we find the name." He found some albums, but didn't check for a name since that was a little too personal and checked the item covered in a thick layer of newspaper. It was a wooden box made of smooth, solid wenge wood. Neatly carved into the wooden lid was the name Nishima Setsuna. "Oh, I think Nishima's in my class. I'll just tell her I have it and give it to her after school."

"Well, it's a good thing you know her. She must be worried sick. These do look like they're treasured dearly," Natsuki said, carefully packing the albums back into the box.

Syo nodded, wrapping the wooden box in the newspaper and putting it in the box, too. Even though it wasn't his, he was wondering what was in the box that was so perfectly carved.

**There you go! I may revise this, it's just super late at night and I'm just working on my late night tiredness . . .**

**If you're going to review, please be gentle. I'm a bit fragile.**


	2. Syo's Just Too Scary Isn't He?

**Hello, lovely people! Thank you for the reviews so far and thank you for being gentle for fragile me! Now there is something I wanna get straight, though. I am using the Last name, First name form for the names. For example, when I say Nishima Setsuna, Setsuna is her first name. When I say Kurusu Syo, Syo is his first name! When I say Nanami Haruka, Haruka is her first name. Get it? People get confused by that, including me sometimes. I just wanted to get that clear, that's all. **

**Do you think I should change it? Like, do it First name, Last name sequence?**

**Anyways, let us begin, shall we~?**

That morning, Setsuna was still as worried as ever. She didn't want her things in the wrong hands. She sighed, and forced herself out of the bed. It was an hour before her alarm clock rang since she didn't feel tired. She went through her normal morning routine and was fixing her hair by the time Eriko woke up.

She saw Setsuna tying her hair in her normal two, low pigtails with her blazer beside her on the side of her bed. Immediately, Eriko panicked. "Seriously, it's only the second day and I'm already late?!" Eriko jumped out of bed and grabbed her uniform out of her closet.

Setsuna laughed. "No, I just woke up too early. I guess I was too excited for school."

Eriko grumbled, "Man, I wish I could be like you . . ."

**~~S-Classroom~~**

Shinnosuke was talking to some guys in the classroom when he saw Syo come in. When he sat in this desk he saw Syo look at Setsuna's desk.

"Hey, Shin," he said. When Shinnosuke turned around in his desk, he asked, "Is Nishima here yet?"

"No, she's not here. Why?"

"I have one of her boxes." He saw the look Shinnosuke was giving him. "I-It's was the movers! They got the dorms wrong!"

". . . O . . . kay . . .?" He still had the look of confusion and decided to change the subject.

A couple of minutes later, Setsuna walked through the door and headed to her desk, sitting down. "Good morning, Miura-kun."

Shinnosuke smiled. "Morning, Nishima."

"Nishima?"

Setsuna squeaked a bit as she used every bit of her courage to turn a little to Syo. But as soon as his blonde hair was in her vision, she stopped and faced the board like last time. "Y-yes?"

"Hey, I got one of your boxes in my room."

"O-oh!" She was glad to hear that her albums and music box were here, at the school, but it was with him! Kurusu Syo! "U-um . . ."

"I was wonde– Oh, wait, were you saying something?"

She shook her head, looking down at the desk.

Syo, who was now really curious, got up and sat himself down on the desk in front of her with the chair turned to her. "Nishima, why don't you look up at me when I'm talking to you?"

Setsuna kept her gaze down as her face paled all over again. It made her uncomfortable to be so close to him, and she felt like she was going to burst into tears and die. Shinnosuke was watching them, and saw Setsuna grip her wrist tightly. Syo saw how she was opening her mouth, but she quickly closed it again as if deciding she wouldn't give him an answer.

Syo sighed. It didn't seem like she would say anything. "Anyways, I was wondering if you can meet me at the front of the Girl's Dorm at 6:00."

She nodded. _Alright, alright, I get it! Just go, will you?!_

"Great! I hope your voice gets better soon," he said, referring to what Shinnosuke said yesterday. Granting her wish, Syo left to talk with Jinguji Ren and Shinnosuke quickly turned to her.

"Nishima, are you okay?" he asked.

"I . . . I think I'm gonna die!" she whimpered, putting her head down on the desk.

"J-just from talking to him?!"

"The look in his eyes was menacing! And now I have to meet him by myself!"

"Why don't you just ask Nakamura to do it?"

She lifted her head shamefully. "I can, but I'm positive she'll say no. She'll just force me to do it anyway."

Shinnosuke tapped his chin before saying, "Well, think of this as a chance to end it! I mean, you're scared of Syo, right? If you take the bull by the horns, you can get rid of the fear."

Setsuna stared at him before putting her head down again. "It'd be better if I had a hole to die in . . ."

"D-don't say things like that, Nishima!"

"The class began a couple of minutes later.

"Now," Ryuya began. "Raise your hand if you are in the idol course." The students raised their hands. "Now raise your hand if you are in the composer course." The remaining students raised their hands. He nodded.

Ryuya began to explain the Graduation Audition, pairing up, and stressed the "No Love" Rule.

"Since we have an equal amount of idols and composers, will all the idols come up and pick a name from the box."

All of the idol students got up and stood in line to get a name. When the names were chosen, Ryuya put the pairs on the board.

"Oh, I got Syo!" Shinnosuke said. He turned in his chair to Syo. "Let's work hard, 'kay?"

He nodded in determination. "Yeah!"

Setsuna sighed in relief. She was lucky to avoid Syo. She looked for her name and found it beside the name Jinguji Ren. She turned around and saw that he was approaching her desk.

"Hey," he said in his low voice. "It seems like you and I are going to be partners. Let's work well together."

"O-oh, um . . . s-same here, Jinguji-kun . . ." She looked up to his eyes and found herself a bit nervous. She wasn't scared or intimidated. She was just nervous to be working with a famous person.

Ren wasn't too scary, but he was a little intimidating. Setsuna could handle it if she kept her distance.

"Everyone, get back to her seats!" Ryuya ordered as everyone followed his order. "There are the pairs for your Recording Test. The idols will write the lyrics to the song that the composers write. If you are absent on the day of the test, you will get an automatic zero."

**~~Lunchtime~~  
**"Hey, isn't Nakamura a bit late?' Shinnosuke asked Setsuna as they ate lunch.

"I'm sure she'll be here soon," she assured. "Oh, here she comes!"

Eriko sat herself at the table. "Hey, you guys excited for the Recording Test?" she asked with happiness. "Who're your partners?"

"I got Kurusu Syo," Shinnosuke answered.

"Jinguji Ren-kun," Setsuna replied, taking a bite of her pasta.

"W-wait, wait! That Jinguji Ren?!" She pointed over to the man Setsuna was talking about. She was in shock when Setsuna nodded. "Setsuna, that guy's a flirt! You're not scared of him?!"

"It's not that I'm scared of him. I'm just nervous because he's famous." She gave a shrug.

" . . . I'd rather have you paired up with Kurusu-kun."

A shiver ran up her spine when she heard his name. "I-I'd rather die."

"Nishima, don't say things like that!" Shinnosuke scolded. "Nakamura, who's your partner?"

"Himura Yosuke-kun. I'm really pumped about this~ But, Setsuna, you need to meet Shinomiya Natsuki-kun. He's super nice! Oh, yeah! You won't believe this, guys! Ringo-sensei chose this girl in class to play a song from last year, and she couldn't read it! Well, that's what people are telling me."

"W-wait, what?" Setsuna said in surprise.

"This is a music school. You'd think that knowing how to read music would be a given requirement," Shinnosuke thought aloud in disbelief.

"Well," Eriko started. "I think it's a misunderstanding. Look, she's in class A. That means she knows a lot about music. So maybe she has stage fright or something . . ."

"This sounds unbelievable, so I think you might be right." Shinnosuke got an agreeing nod from Setsuna.

**~~Afterschool~~**

Setsuna stopped by the library to read a little and found it to be a quarter to six when she was on the fifth chapter. She checked out the book and headed back to the dormitory. She read the book while walking and only looked away from the book to look up for a second. Getting closer to the entrance of the door to the dormitory, she bumped into someone, dropping her book in the process.

"Sorry," she apologized, bowing a bit before picking up her book and looking up.

"It's fine; I'm just waiting for – Nishima?" The person turned around in surprise.

Setsuna gasped and dropped the book again. "S-s-sorry, K-Ku-Kurusu-kun," she stuttered. She forgot that he was going to return her things.

He chuckled. "Didn't I just say it was fine?"

She looked down nervously, picking up the book with a shaky hand and clutching it tightly. She then realized that she needed to hold the box and put it in her bag slowly.

"Oh, yeah, here's your stuff." He was about to put it in her open arms, but then asked, "It's a bit heavy. Should I go up to your room with you?"

_No, no, no! I'm begging you, Kurusu-kun!_

"N-n-no . . . I-I'm fine . . ."

"Syo-chan!"

"Oh, shit!" he cursed under his breath, handing the box to Setsuna.

A familiar, tall man was approaching the two. "Syo-chan, who is this?"

"She's Nishima Setsuna," Syo explained. "Nishima, this is my roommate, Shinomiya Natsuki."

Setsuna looked up and saw Natsuki's kind eyes. For some reason, she found herself smiling shyly. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."

Natsuki returned her smile. "It's nice to meet you, too. You're very cute, Nishima-san." He laughed when she blushed in embarrassment. "Syo-chan, what are you doing letting such a cute girl like Nishima-san hold a heavy box?"

"She told me she was fine!"

"I-I'm fine, Shinomiya-kun, really," Setsuna insisted.

"Alright, if you say so . . . well, have a good day," Natsuki said with the smile still on his face.

"You too." She smiled again before entering the Girl's Dormitory. She giggled to herself.

_Shinomiya-kun is really nice._

**~~Outside of the Dorm~~**

When the two saw Setsuna go through the door, Syo grumbled. "Natsuki, have you met Nishima before?"

"Until now, no, I haven't. Why?" he asked curiously as they walked back to the Boy's Dormitory.

"She never looks at me and she barely talks to me. Yesterday, Shin told me that she couldn't speak well and I thought she still couldn't speak today. But she sounded perfectly fine when she was talking to you!"

"Really? That's strange, isn't it?"

"Yeah . . . it is." Why was it so different in between him and Natsuki? It wasn't just Natsuki, but Shinnosuke too. _Is her voice only bad around me?_

**~~Hour Later~~**

"Hey,Setsuna!" Eriko greeted. "Sorry, I was– "

She froze when a familiar melody rang. She looked to Setsuna's desk, where her music box sat. Setsuna fell asleep on her bed. Eriko smiled at the scene and gently closed the lid to the music box, stopping the melody.

"Good thing you got it back," she chuckled, covering her friend in a blanket.

**Ta da~~~ **

**The next chapter will be about the Recording Test and whatnot~~ **

**If you are wondering, the song in the music box is Ashita Kuru Hi from Kobato, which I will use a lot in this fanfic. There will hopefully be more about it one day. I will use a lot of OST from animes as compositions for my OCs and such.**

**Bye bye! **


	3. Recording Test Day

Today was the day of the Recording Test, and Setsuna was worried. Not only did she not feel confident, but her partner, Ren, was skipping class again. It's been two weeks since the pairs were assigned, and although she saw him at lunch and handed him the second copy of CD arrangement and his sheet music, he neglects all of the classes, making it hard for her to talk to him.

"He's not here again?" Shinnosuke sighed, approaching the girl. "Jinguji's been skipping a lot lately, huh?"

"Not to mention that he doesn't do any homework," Setsuna added, looking down to the CD of the song's instrumental version and the sheet music of the full arrangement.

The entire class was in a holding room, waiting for their teacher to come through the door that led to the recording room. Everyone was there, not including Ren. Setsuna felt a bit lonely since she didn't have a partner. Syo saw her nervousness from the other side of the room.

_But then again, when is she not nervous?_

Ever since he returned her things, he has been looking for similarities between Natsuki, Shinnosuke, and others she talked to. Maybe that would give him an answer to why she never talks to him like she does to them. Unfortunately, he had no idea what that similarities were.

Even though he knew what was going to happen, Syo decided to try to talk to her again. As he got closer and closer to her, she began to walk away. He looked towards the door to the recording room and saw Ryuya standing there. Shinnosuke saw Syo approaching and turned around.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Can I ask a question, Shin?" Syo asked.

"Sure."

"Why doesn't Nishima talk to me?"

"That's a good question." His brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm not so sure, but I am sure that she must feel terrible."

" . . . Why?"

"She's the only person who doesn't have an idol to sing her song. What's with Jinguji anyway? Doesn't he know how hard she was working? Syo, do you know what's going on with him?"

Syo shook his head. He saw Setsuna walk back to Shinnosuke's side without her CD and music score.

"Nishima," Shinnosuke said. "Where're your things?"

"Since Jinguji-kun isn't here, I'm leaving them with Hyuga-sensei and play the piano arrangement late –" She completely froze when she saw Syo and hid behind Shinnosuke.

"What happened, Nishima?" Syo asked, carefully choosing his words.

She shook her head and nervously looked over Shinnosuke's shoulder, but avoided eye contact with Syo. Syo saw Shinnosuke whisper something to Setsuna, but he couldn't hear him over all of the other students around them.

"Shin told me you worked hard on your song," he said.

Setsuna nodded and gripped the hem of her skirt.

"I can't wait to hear it."

When she heard him say that she immediately looked up. "W-well, a-actually . . ." She stopped herself when she realized she was looking directly at him. Her face flared red and she hid herself again behind Shinnosuke.

"Hm?"

"N . . . n-no . . ."

Syo couldn't see her, but he knew all she wanted was to get out of there.

"Everyone, pay attention!" Ryuya called, silencing all the students. "I have the order taped on those two walls, so make sure to check it out. Composers, be sure that you have your arrangement CD and sheet music in order. Also, whoever is after Jinguji, he's not here so we'll skip over him. We'll start as soon as the first pair comes up."

"Nishima, do you wanna go look?" Shinnosuke asked, turning around to see Setsuna.

She shook her head. "I . . . I-I'll just . . ."

"Alright, then, I'll be right back." He left her, pushing Syo along with him.

"W-wait, I still wanna talk to Nishima!" Syo complained when they joined the crowd near one of the posters.

"Look, I think Nishima's a little frustrated because she doesn't have a partner. I just want her to have a bit of time to relax by herself."

Syo looked over his shoulder and saw a troubled look on Setsuna's face as she leaned against an empty wall. He couldn't help but feel sympathy for her when she looked so down. He saw Ryuya approach her and talk to her for a moment. Setsuna nodded and left the holding room.

Syo pulled his focus away from the scene and put it all in the test. He was the sixth person to go. He looked at the sheet music in his hands, even though he had their song, Cosmic Runner, by memory.

* * *

Natsuki finally finished his test and he was relieved of the stress of being the first to go. He walked out of the holding room to stretch his legs. As exciting as it was to go inside a recording room, he just couldn't stand still. As he walked down the hall, he saw Setsuna at the end, walking into the furthest room.

Natsuki smiled and headed to her direction. The two have grown quite close, and he really did like the talks they have often. He peeked into the room secretly. It turned out to be a little practice room. Setsuna was sitting on the piano bench with some piano sheet music spread out on the piano.

"Eh?" She turned around and instantly smiled at the sight of him. "Good morning, Natsuki-kun."

"Morning, Secchan!" He entered the room, closing the door behind him. "Did you finish your Recording Test already?"

She shook her head. "My partner isn't here, so I'm playing the piano arrangement for the class after lunch."

"So you're here to practice?" He saw her nod as she scooted over for him to sit down, which he did. "Who's your partner?"

"Do you know Jinguji-kun?"

"Oh, Ren-kun? Yes, I know him. So this is for him? Can you play it, Secchan?"

"H-huh?"

She blushed at the request, but smiled shyly before nodding. Setsuna positioned her fingers and began to play **(Song: Sekai no Hate Made Believe Heart played by Kokoko6891 on YouTube) **Natsuki found himself tapping his foot to the beat of the song. The melody was catchy and he wanted to sing along happily. Near the end, Setsuna stopped abruptly as the door opened before she could finish.

"Nishima, Hyuga-sensei wants – huh? Natsuki?"

The two turned around and saw Syo with a shocked look. Setsuna paled when she realized who he was and worried if he heard her play. She hastily turned around to the smiled and got up from the piano bench.

"Syo-chan, have you heard Secchan's song?"

He furrowed his brows. This was the first time he heard Setsuna's nickname that she earned last week. "Nishima's? No, I haven't."

"It's amazing! It's a shame Ren-kun isn't here."

Syo completely ignored his statement and looked at Setsuna. "Nishima, can I hear it?" he asked, trying to keep his voice gentle.

She was shaking and bit her bottom lip before she quickly stuttered, "K-K-ku-kurusu-kun, w-w-what did Hyuga-sensei need?"

"Oh, he says that the tests are almost done, so you should come back."

She gathered her things hastily. Setsuna smiled at Natsuki one more time. "Thank you, Natsuki-kun." She walked past Syo with her eyes towards the floor.

When she was out of sight, Syo sighed. "See? She doesn't look at me! Ever!"

Natsuki accompanied Syo as they walked back to the S-Class's designated holding room. "This is really strange."

"Ever since you met her, you've been talking to her nearly every time you see her."

Natsuki saw the look of confusion and a bit of jealousy on his face as he thought more about the situation. Syo has tried since day 1 to talk to Setsuna, but it always ended the same way.

". . . Maybe she hates me . . .," he mumbled to himself.

Immediately, Natsuki shook his head. "She couldn't hate you, Syo-chan! From what I see, she doesn't have the heart to hate anyone." The two were at the door of the holding room.

"Is that so?" Syo chuckled. "Thanks, Natsuki." He gave him a wave and went through the door, preparing himself for Ryuya's next order.

**So . . . I really don't have much to say right now. So I'll give you a fact about me! At first I really hated Ren, but later I liked him because I really like Dear . . . Burning My Lady and Sekai no Hate Made Believe Heart . . . and because he's voiced by Junichi Suwabe. I guess it's 'cause I really never liked the characters that are flirts like Ren. I still kinda hate that part of Ren . . . but I like him. He's cool. **


	4. The Results

Syo was surprised to see Setsuna in the classroom during lunch. He was outside of the classroom with the door open a crack, just enough for him to see her at the piano. He saw Setsuna earlier, but she left as quickly as she came with her food in hand. Her friends seemed confused about why Setsuna left so quickly. Syo came early because there were only a few minutes till the bell rang to return to class.

He used most of those minutes to stand near the crack of the door and listen to Setsuna play and talk to herself about what she should improve. There were no stutters in her voice when she spoke and for once, he could hear her loud and clear. Her voice was so relaxed when he thought she would be stressed. It relieved Syo when she ate the cafeteria's melon bread from time to time. _It'd be bad if she didn't eat before her test,_ he thought.

Before he knew it, the bell rang and it surprised both of them. Syo chose to wait for someone else to come in since he didn't want to seem _super _early. In a couple of minutes, Ichinose Tokiya was walking to the door.

"Is it locked?" he asked.

"Oh, um, no," he replied. He moved out of the way for Tokiya and waited ten seconds to enter.

He found Setsuna at her desk, tapping like she would if she was playing a piano. Tokiya, who was in the back, was reading out of his book in peace. Syo put his head down and immediately found the silence unbearable. Soon, some of the students began to file in, including Shinnosuke. When he saw Setsuna, he gave a quick wave to his friends and took his seat.

"Where were you during lunch, Nishima?" he asked curiously.

Setsuna stopped tapping her fingers and looked at him, still not noticing Syo. "Sorry for not telling you, Miura-kun. I was practicing in here."

The two were talking happily with Syo just staying quiet behind them. The bell soon rang and Ryuya entered.

After taking a short attendance, he spoke up. "Alright, since Jinguji decided to skip _again_, Nishima will play her piece for us. Nishima?" Setsuna got up from her chair with her sheet music. "Also, do you know if he wrote his lyrics?"

"N-no, sir," she replied as she sat on the piano bench.

"So this song is untitled and lyrics are incomplete," he muttered, writing something in his grade book. "Whenever you're ready."

Syo turned around in his seat to see Setsuna taking a few deep breaths. When she felt calm, she had a look of determination and began to play. The unnamed tune was as amazing as Natsuki told him. It was more than he expected, but if only Ren decided to actually attempt to get some good grades, maybe it would be better.

The song ended all too soon, and the class applauded for her as Setsuna walked back to her seat. On the way, she got a few praises and a thumbs up from Shinnosuke.

"Thank you, Nishima. The grades will be up on the bulletin on Monday. All the classes with gather there so we can reveal the scores together. Now, get out your textbooks and turned to page 37."

**~Afterschool~**

"Hey, Ren!" Syo called. He found Ren alone (luckily) with no fans around.

Ren was looking out an open window on the second floor when he turned his head to Syo. "If it isn't Munchkin."

"I've told you already! It's Kurusu Syo, dammit!" he snarled angrily. "Anyways, you know you just failed the Recording Test, right?"

"Oh, really? That's too bad." He gave a shrug.

"You're gonna do the retake, right? Hyuga-sensei's starting to get annoyed at your absences and zeros."

"Oh, it'll solve itself," Ren replied coolly, walking away with his hands in his pockets.

Syo sighed, leaning against the wall beside the window. _He doesn't have a care in the world . . .How the hell did he get into S-Class with that careless personality?_

"Secchan!"

"Huh?" He looked out the window to down below.

He saw Natsuki jogging to catch up with Setsuna, who was running an errand for Ryuya before she went to her dorm. She had a stack of papers in her hands and her schoolbag slung over her shoulder. Natsuki said something Syo obviously couldn't hear and Setsuna responded with a confused expression before shaking her head. She gave a short reply and smiled sheepishly. Natsuki smiled back and probably offered to help her since he took half of her stack.

Syo looked confused as he began to walk back to the dormitory.

**~Later at the Boy's Dormitory~**

"I'm back," Natsuki said when he opened the door.

"Hey, Natsuki," Syo greeted while he did his homework at his desk.

"Syo-chan, I got to talk to Secchan," he said as he put his schoolbag down.

"Yeah, in the practice room, right?"

He chuckled. "No, I saw her after school. I asked her if she hated you. She told me no, so there's nothing to worry about, Syo-chan!"

"I . . . I wasn't really worried . . .," he mumbled, hiding the smile from his roommate. _But when I think of it, that only answers one of my questions._

* * *

**~Monday~**

"So . . . how come you're here, Ren?"

Syo was standing beside Ren, waiting for the teachers to reveal the scores. All the classes, from S-Class to F-Class, have gathered for the Recording Test results.

"What? I can't see my score?"

"You already know what you got, so what's the point? Besides, Hyuga-sensei will scold you once he sees you."

Ren shrugged. "Oh, well."

"Not a care in the world, huh?" he muttered in annoyance.

The curtains covering the scores were pulled away. The talking among the classes increased. Syo looked at the S-Class section to search for his name. He grinned when he found his name beside a 95. Of course, beside Jinguji Ren on the board was a 0. He found that Natsuki's score was a 91.

Faintly, he heard a somewhat familiar voice laugh a bit. From the corner of his eye, he saw some girl beside Setsuna slouch in relief.

"I actually passed . . .," the auburn haired girl said.

Setsuna giggled again at Eriko's reaction to her 87. "Well, you did practice your singing almost every chance you had. Your hard work paid off, Eriko-san."

"What about you?" she asked eagerly. She looked up again to find the score and was a bit angry to find an 82. "It's all because of Jinguji-kun! There's a 15 point deduction when the composer doesn't complete the song or the idol was absent for the Recording Test . . ."

"I-I'm fine with an 82, really! At least I passed the test, right?" Setsuna reasoned.

Eriko crossed her arms, still not approving of the score. "You deserve so much more, Setsuna."

"Well, this is supposed to be a simulation of real life, according to Hyuga-sensei. So really, this is fine. If one goes down, so does the other."

Syo took Setsuna's situation to thought. _If Ren actually came . . . Nishima would've probably got a 97! Jeez, Ren and his stupid choices!_

"Ren, you pulled down Nishima's score," Syo informed directly.

"Oh, did I now?" He gave an intrigued look. "Why are you so worried about it?"

He simply put his hands in his pockets. "S . . . she worked hard on that song, and it all went to waste."

Ren chuckled. "Whatever you say, Munchkin." He walked away, figuring that he had better things to do than sit around in class.

"Dammit, Ren, QUIT IT, WILL YOU?!" he hollered. Syo scowled at the playboy, not bearing in mind that Setsuna was shivering at his call.

She was freaking out about the angry look and the scream before gaining control of her shaking and walking away with Eriko to talk to their friends. _It was stupid to even try to look at him . . . He's just too scary . . ._

**I am preparing for the next chapter already, which will take place at Maji Love 1000% Episode 4. This one somewhat takes place in Episode 3, you know, the beginning of it.**


	5. Retake

"Jinguji Ren!"

The three, Eriko, Shinnosuke and Setsuna jumped when they heard Ryuya's booming voice. They were talking in the school's courtyard, on a bench, after school. It's been a week since the results and the retake work was given.

Shinnosuke sighed. "It looks like Hyuga-sensei reached his limit, huh?"

"H-he's required to do the retake," Setsuna said.

"Oh, yeah!" Eriko said, realizing that it was true. "He had a score lower than 50. He probably didn't do any of the extra assignments . . ."

"Do you think he'll be downgraded to A-Class?"

Shinnosuke shook his head. "I think Hyuga-sensei just told him that he'll expel him if there's nothing for him to grade tomorrow," he whispered, looking at the playboy, teacher, and the group of students.

Eriko was shocked. "How can Hyuga-sensei be so brutal?"

"Oh, he's not really bad," he said. "You just have to stay on his good side, which Jinguji obviously isn't on."

Setsuna smiled in agreement. "Even I warmed up to him."

" . . . Then I guess you're right." She watched Ren walk away, muttering something to Ryuya before he passed him. "That guy's really something."

**-An Hour Later-**

Working on her assignment in a practice room, Setsuna played a melody to jog her creative thoughts.

"I thought I recognized that melody."

"Eh?" She turned to see Jinguji Ren leaning in close to see her staff paper. Immediately, Setsuna scooted to the edge of the piano bench with a blush over her face. "J-Ji-Jinguji-kun!" She calmed down slowly, but she was still nervous since they were alone.

"That's the song you composed for the test, right?"

"W-was it? I wasn't paying attention."

Ren chuckled, sitting down on the bench, but sitting so he was facing the opposite way of the piano for more leg space. "The song's very good. I still need to write the lyrics."

"So you are gonna retake it?"

" . . . Maybe." He didn't have a readable look when he said so. "You know, that munchkin's been getting on me for lowering your score."

"'Munchkin'?" Setsuna gave him a lost look.

Again, a chuckle came out. "What a cute expression," he said, earning another blush. "Syo."

She jumped a bit at the name. "K-Kurusu-kun? Well, I'm honestly fine with my score now."

Ren was quiet, but smiled as he got up. He muttered something to himself and walked to the door. Setsuna felt that he just needed time alone, since he probably had a lot of people telling him to do his retake. "Have a good day, Jinguji-kun."

He waved lazily. Before he completely closed the door, Ren said, "Little Lady, do you remember what I said about that shortie?"

"Um . . ." She nodded.

"Think about it." With those words, the door closed, leaving Setsuna alone again.

Her brows furrowed. "Think about what exactly . . .?" As confused as she was, Setsuna put it off to the side and left the room too.

She met Eriko outside of the school and they walked together back to the dormitory. As they talked, they were cut short by the sound of a saxophone. The girls didn't respond and let the sound sink in.

"How beautiful," Eriko mused, closing her eyes to feel the song's message. "I wonder who's playing."

"Jinguji-kun," Setsuna whispered.

She looked surprised. "Setsuna, how do you know?"

"This sounds like the melody for the Recording Test."

She was quiet as she listened to the playboy play. She continued to walk away, with Setsuna following her. "I guess he's not such a slacker."

* * *

**-Next Day After School-**

"The bell is gonna ring soon and Jinguji wasn't in class again." Shinnosuke groaned. "How can one guy be so reckless?"

"You know, Nanami Haruka-san skipped her class, too. I heard she's looking for Jinguji-kun's lyrics."

"Did he lose it or something?" he asked.

Eriko shrugged as Setsuna approached them from her trip from the library. "I saw Natsuki-kun and some other students on the way here. He said something about finding lyrics."

"Funny, we were just talking about that," Eriko laughed.

Before Setsuna could reply, the bell rang. "Uh-oh . . ."

"I guess it's over for that guy," Eriko sighed.

Suddenly, a strange clicking came from the intercoms along with a bit of feedback that hurt their ears.

"Uh . . . Can everyone hear me?"

"H-hey, isn't this Jinguj–"

"Little Lamb, can you hear me?" he echoed.

"L-little Lamb?" Shinnosuke laughed a bit. "Who's that?"

They all silenced as they listened to Ren's echoing speech. "Ryuya-san and everyone else, please listen. I just finished my song. I'll release my slumbering feelings . . . until the very last phrase." There was a sound out a deep breath. "It's showtime!"

Immediately, the song followed after his last word. Setsuna recognized the song from the start and smiled when his passionate voice sang.

"Is this really that song you wrote?" Eriko's eyes were wide as she grabbed Setsuna's shoulders. "This arrangement suits him like crazy!"

"Seriously, Nishima, this is amazing!"

Their praises weren't the only reason she was smiling. She was happy to k ow that Ren put effort into his work.

**-Later at Saotomate (the school store)-**

Syo went to Saotomate to buy a new notebook and a small notepad. While he was there, he found Setsuna looking through a magazine. He didn't need to think twice when he decided to approach her. Setsuna saw him and flinched a bit when she realized it was him.

"Nishima, good thing Ren did the retake, huh?" He smiled when she hesitantly nodded, gently closing the magazine. "That song surprised me. It was a lot better than I expected when I heard the arrangement and Ren sing. I spent a bunch of time with my friends looking for that guy's lyrics."

He didn't need a response from her. Syo knew that she wouldn't say anything, but he was fine with that. He's gotten used to it by now.

You're really good, Nishima. He was really lucky to have you as a partner."

Setsuna's mind went blank as he talked. She didn't realize she pushed the magazine into is chest and ran away. Syo sighed. Same old, same old. He looked at the magazine, flipping through the pages.

"H-Hyuga-sensei's gonna be in a movie?!" He felt excitement well up as he ran to the cashier to buy all three things.

**Alright, I did this on an iPad because my computer hates me right now. I'm sorry for anything that's wrong.**


	6. Kosoba Yui

**This was all written on an iPad. If there are any mistakes tell me.**

"I'm serious! Get me down! This is too high!"

Setsuna was caught off guard when she heard Syo's scream. She turned to her right and she saw him in a net trap, hanging from a tree. She saw the girl she knew as Haruka and Natsuki standing in front of the tree. Setsuna walked up to Natsuki, who gave her a friendly greeting as if nothing was wrong.

"Natsuki-kun, what happened here?" she asked, watching the boy swing around.

"Oh, Syo-chan's just no good with heights."

"E-eh? S-so are you sure this is safe?"

"No, it's not!" Syo cried, looking down at Setsuna, Haruka and Natsuki in desperation. "Get me down, Natsuki!"

"Maybe we should," Haruka suggested, getting an agreeing nod from Natsuki.

They soon realized that Setsuna was already untying the rope around the base of the tree. Syo's flailing slowly came to a stop as he watched her carefully lower him to the ground in surprise. He was confused.

_Why is she helping me now? Why isn't she running?_

When he reached the ground, Setsuna let him out and he let out a tired sigh. Syo slowly stood up shakily, grabbing Setsuna's sgphoulders for support.

_Is it me or is she shaking too?_ "Thanks a lot, Nishima. I owe you one."

She was quiet, still processing the fact that they were a little too close for comfort. "U-um . . . Ah . . ." She gave up on trying to speak and nodded at him. Quickly, she walked away to the cafeteria.

_Oh, there's the Nishima I know._

"That was nice of Setsuna-chan," Haruka said, smiling.

Syo sighed, still confused, walked to the cafeteria only to find that Natsuki set another trap. "D-dammit, Natsuki, get me down!"

* * *

"So Syo's afraid of heights?" Shinnosuke asked. He and Setsuna were walking around leisurely after school.

"Apparently. Natsuki-kun said so. Kurusu-kun really was scared when he was up in that tree."

"Wait, he was in— N-never mind. Did he get down?"

Setsuna nodded. "I helped him down."

"You did?" His eyes were wide with surprise.

She was surprised herself as she thought of her reason why. "I understand what it's like to face your fear when you're not prepared, so I guess I sympathized him."

"That's really nice of you," he complimented, smiling.

"But as soon as I realized how close he was, I just wanted to get away," she said quickly, shivering at the thought of the moment.

"D-don't push me!" The two didn't seem to hear the plea as they continued to walk.

"Hey, is that an X on the ground?" Setsuna wondered as she pointed ahead of them.

" . . . Kinda looks like a landing pad."

The sound of screaming came from above and a body nearly landed in front of them if it wasn't for the bungee cord that pulled him back up. The two, still in shock, saw a hat float down directly in front of them. Setsuna picked it up from the ground and patted off the dirt as she inspected it.

"Y'know, that looks kinda like Syo's hat," Shinnosuke said, looking up to see that the figure was still bungee jumping. "Wanna go up?"

She nodded as they walked to the door, Shinnosuke opening the door for her and following behind as they climbed up the stairs. When they reached the top, the people there were surprised to see them. Setsuna's legs began to shake when she saw the two unfamiliar men.

"Setsuna-chan, why are you here?" Haruka inquired with her innocent smile.

She held up Syo's hat. "We found this down there, so we thought we should return it."

"Nanami, who's your friend?" the boy with the red hair asked curiously.

"Oh, this is Nishima Setsuna-chan. I meet her a lot in the library."

He turned to Setsuna with a grin in his face. "I'm Ittoki Otoya. It's nice to meet you, Nishima."

She shyly hid behind Shinnosuke and stuttered a greeting too, looking over his shoulder. Otoya was a bit confused.

Shinnosuke laughed a bit. "Nishima is just a little shy. I'm a Miura Shin."

Otoya smiled understandingly. "Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Shin!"

"Ah, Secchan~" Setsuna saw Natsuki near a ledge, waving at her. She waved back with a smile. "I'll get Syo-chan! Just wait a minute, okay?" He began to pull the boy up. Syo sighed in relief once he was up. He was grateful to feel a flat surface.

Setsuna paled and gave Shinnosuke the hat. She hurriedly, but carefully, opened the door that led to the stairs.

"S-shin?" Syo carefully got himself up to his wobbling feet, slowly walking towards him. "What's up?"

"Your hat kinda dropped down there, so I came with Nishima I drop it off," he replied, holding it out for him.

"Um . . . Nishima?" He took the hat and positioned it on his head.

"Well, she ran away while Natsuki was pulling you up."

Otoya laughed. "She's really shy, isn't she, Syo?"

He sighed. "Definetly, but that's Nishima for ya. Buts she'll probably warm up to you." _Just like everyone else._

Shinnosuke examined the look on Syo's face and everything in his head clicked together like a puzzle. _. . . Does Syo want to be friends with Nishima . . .?_

**-The Next Day-**

Today was not Syo's day. Yes, he was finally cured from his acrophobia (thanks to Shining Saotome) but it didn't really matter since the role he wanted to get was for a girl. And Natsuki's plan was to get him into a dress, which he successfully did (somehow). While Ryuya was saying that "Syoko-chan" was perfect for the role of the little sister, Natsuki got away WITH his clothes.

So now, Syo was walking around in a pink, frilly dress and a wig on, looking for Natsuki. As much as he hated it, he was glad that he didn't look too much like his MANLY self.

"Dammit, Natsuki," he muttered, crossing his arms in exasperation. "Where the hell did you go, you jerk? This stupid dress is itchy. I don't know how girls wear these things all the time."

"Um, excuse me, miss?"

"Hm?" He turned around to see the last person he expected._ N-N-Nishima!? Why is she here?! Moreover, why is she talking to me now?! Of all times it had to be this one?!_ A blush painted over his face.

"Can I just say that you look really cute in that dress?" Setsuna smiled sheepishly.

He was still shocked that they were talking. This isn't the shy Nishima he's used to being around. But he shook it off and smiled. "You think so? Thanks!" he said in the most believing feminine voice he could produce.

"Where did you get that dress? I have a cousin who really likes clothes like that."

"I'm sorry, but I don't know. I got it as a present from a friend." He rubbed his right wrist nervously. Please, just don't figure it out, Nishima!

"Oh, that's too bad. I-I hope you don't mind, but could I take a picture for my cousin? I'll keep your face out of it, I promise!"

For some reason, he just couldn't say no to her and agreed. She took out her phone from her pocket and sent two pictures of the dress to her cousin.

"Thanks, um . . ." Her brows furrowed as she thought.

Uh-oh. He forgot to think of a name if anyone asked! Quickly, he thought of names to use as an alias. Syoko sounded too obvious to use. He blurted, "K-kosoba Yui! You can call me Yui if you want."

Her happy smile returned. "I'm Nishima Setsuna. It's nice to meet you, Yui-san."

Syo was grateful that she believed him. "Same here! Say, have you seen a tall boy with glasses and golden blonde hair? His name is Shinomiya Natsuki."

"Natsuki-kun?" She tapped her chin for a second before shaking her head. "Sorry, but I haven't seen him yet." She then glanced to the side in worry. "Maybe he knows . . . b-but . . ."

"Who?" he asked politely. He wanted to get his revenge on Natsuki.

"Kurusu Syo-kun might know, but I don't know where he would be right now. Sorry, Yui-san."

He chuckled a little too girls for his taste. "It's okay, S-Setsuna-chan." He felt weird when he used her first name. "Thanks, anyway."

"Well, I gotta go. I'll see you around, Yui-san. Have a good day." Setsuna turned around and walked away with a smile.

Syo was surprised that he didn't mind the pink dress the entire time they were together. Seeing her smile and talking to her normally made him forget it all. He turned around to be greeted by a grinning Shinomiya Natsuki and Miura Shinnosuke, which made him jump.

"W-what the— Were you watching?!" He blushed, pulling down the skirt and reverting to his normal voice.

"Syo-chan, you do have a soft side~" Natsuki laughed playfully.

"S-shut up! And give those back!" he snatched his uniform from him angrily.

"So, Syo, how did it feel to talk with Nishima?" Shinnosuke asked.

"W-wait, don't tell me that you—"

"— planned the entire moment? Yup, and it's all thanks to Natsuki and his cute dresses and wigs!"

" . . . And you aren't questioning that?"

"I try not to think about it. So how was it? Did you like it?"

He crossed his arms and turned his head. "N-not really . . ." he said stubbornly. Natsuki responded with a laugh. "S-shut it! Shin, if you knew that she would talk to me like . . . t-this, then you know why she won't talk to me normally, right?"

Shinnosuke looked at his watch-less wrist nervously and gave a brief laugh. "Oh, look at the time! Sorry, gotta go!" he said quickly, running away before Syo could ask again.

Syo furrowed his brows before letting it go and walking away to find a restroom with Natsuki at his heels.

_I guess being a girl from time to time won't be so bad . . ._

**Let me explain for people who don't understand the part with Kosoba Yui. That name is from the Utapri game. Syo had to do some extra lessons — to debut as a girl model. His alias was Kosoba Yui. That's pretty much it.**


	7. Satsuki

It was an early Sunday morning and Syo was with Natsuki eating breakfast. The two were going to a Piyo-chan character show, no matter how much he didn't want to go. While looking out the window, he saw Shinnosuke and Setsuna walking towards the gates.

"Wha'cha looking at, Syo-chan?" Natsuki asked, looking out the window too. "Oh, it's Secchan! She told me she was going out."

"Really?" He poked at his eggs as if he didn't care. "Do you know where they're going?"

"I think she's going to the city nearby with Shin-kun."

Syo's poking became more like stabbing. "Really?" He wished he could switch places with Shinnosuke.

"Maybe we'll bump into them there!"

"Yeah, maybe…"

**-Later-**

Setsuna and Shinnosuke were working on her fear outside of the school. Eriko was with some of her other friends, often texting Shinnosuke for their status. While hanging onto the chords above them, the two were awkwardly close. It made Setsuna more nervous than usual to be so close. It also made her realize that she was only up to his chin.

"So, what should we do when we get there?" he asked. "Is there anything you wanna do, Nishima?"

"M-me?" she stuttered. "Oh, I-I'm fine with whatever you choose."

"C'mon, there has to be something you wanna do." His phone vibrated in his hand and he read the screen. "Nakamura says that you wanted to buy a CD and some books. Why don't we go around and find a nice bookstore?"

Setsuna flushed. "I-I can't do that, Miura-kun. Won't that bother you?"

Shinnosuke smiled. "Of course not! I was actually hoping that we could go to one. I want to buy a CD or two. So let's go, okay?" he insisted.

She nodded as the train stopped at the station. The two exited and began walking around the city, looking around and laughing at funny things they saw. They finally found a bookstore, where they settled for a while. Shinnosuke recommended some CDs to her while she recommended books to him.

By the time they decided to eat lunch, they settled in a café and ordered their lunches.

"Hey, Setsuna."

"Yes?" She looked up, but then blushed at the name he used.

"Can I call you that?" he asked.

She nodded. "T-then is it okay if I call you Shin-kun?"

Shinnosuke laughed. "Just Shin is fine. Anyway, Setsuna, is being with me helping you cure your fear?"

"A-a little bit. But I'm already used to being with you."

"True, but this is just to get you used to being in a different area with a guy. I've been prepping you for today at school, but we won't be there forever." He hushed for a second as the waitress served their food. When she left, he had an idea. "I know! How about we ask Natsuki next time?"

"I don't mind, but he's not scary," she pointed out, sipping her drink.

"Oh, yeah… Then why don't I ask Syo to—"

"I don't wanna."

"W-what do you mean?"

"C-can't we ask someone else?" Setsuna begged. "What about Jinguji-kun or Ichinose-kun?"

"First of all," Shinnosuke began, swallowing his sandwich bite, "I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone with Jinguji. Second, what's wrong with Syo?"

"I-I just can't calm down when I see him. When I hear him, he just sounds like he's angry at me or something. It's hard to look at Kurusu-kun in the eye. He just has that really indescribable feeling around him."

"Look, you can't avoid him until we graduate. You need to talk to him someday." He's trying really hard. "Syo's just a hothead, Setsuna. He may look angry, but he's real—" Shinnosuke was interrupted by a roll of thunder. He looked out the window and up to the sky. "Geez, looks like we should get back to the campus before this gets worse."

"Don't worry, I have an umbrella if it does rain." Setsuna smiled as she finished the last of her wrap. _Good thing he dropped the subject._

"Looks like we both came prepared," he chuckled, patting his one-strap backpack as they stood to leave.

* * *

**-Later-**

It was a downpour and Syo was pissed to be blunt. _Why the hell did Natsuki's glasses have to break now? Good thing there's a spare back in the dorm…_

He and Natsuki had their own umbrellas (Syo needed to buy new one from a store) and were heading to the station. When Syo went to the store, apparently Haruka went to the station alone with something obviously on her mind.

"It's a shame my glasses broke," Natsuki sighed as they walked in the rain. He was now wearing his Piyo-chan hat which had glasses attached. Suddenly, a drop of water got into his eye, so he stopped walking for a second.

"Natsuki?" Syo looked back to Natsuki, who was a bit behind him. He was pushing the glasses upward to rub his eye. "Seriously, are we gonna go through this a third time?!"

**-Meanwhile-**

"Setsuna, I'll be right back," Shinnosuke said. "I kinda gotta go to the restroom. Stay here, okay?"

"Alright."

He ran off quickly to the men's restroom. Setsuna stayed where she promised as she hummed a melody to herself **(Omoi wa Rain Rain)**. As she did, she saw a tall figure she knew she recognized from the corner of her eye. She turned her head as the person bumped into her.

"I-I'm sorry abou—"

"Do you mind, shrimp? You're in my way."

She couldn't find the words to say. Her throat felt dry with fear. The way he was glaring down at her was making her tremble and shake.

_T-This isn't Natsuki-kun!_

She felt more insecure when she found someone who looked like her dear friend, but wasn't who she thought he was at all. This person wasn't wearing Natsuki's glasses, and had Piyo-chan glasses balanced on the top of his forehead.

"Dammit, Satsuki, what're you… N-Nishima?"

_Not him…_

Syo looked at the pissed Satsuki and then at the shivering Setsuna. He examined Setsuna. She was gripping onto the handle of her umbrella like her life depended on it. Her bangs acted like a shield, guarding her from any eye contact. To Syo, it didn't feel like how she usually acted around him. In fact, it felt… worse. It worried him sick.

"N-Nishima, what's wrong…? Are you okay?" He reached out to squeeze her shoulder, but she rejected it, backing away and quickly pushing his hand away. He was shocked by the move she made. "N… Nishima?"

She finally looked up, revealing the tears that were pricking the corners of her eyes. Setsuna looked at Syo, who was trying to find a word what he was seeing. She then looked at the scowl the angry Satsuki held.

_I-I can't take this anymore!_

Too frightened to say anything, she ran away.

"Nishima, wait a second!" he called. Syo reached out to grab her arm, but missed by an inch.

"What's her deal?" Satsuki huffed.

"Setsuna!" Shinnosuke ran past Syo and turned back to him in distress. "Syo, what just happened?!"

"I-I don't know, she just ran!"

He groaned. "Setsuna, wait up!" He ran off after her in the direction of the station.

When he was out of sight, Syo turned to Satsuki and growled, "Satsuki, what the hell did you do to her?! Why did Nishima run?!"

"You're annoying me, runt. What makes you think I know?" he muttered.

Syo, now really angry, slapped the goofy Piyo-chan glasses back on the bridge of his nose, bringing Natsuki back. He needed to find out what was wrong with her now more that ever.

**I seriously feel like this was really short. Like shorter than all the other chapters. Anyway, thanks for reading! My computer isn't working well, so once again, this was written on the iPad. Seriously, sometimes I hate that autocorrect… it annoys me like crazy!**


	8. Syo Knows

**My computer is finally agreeing with me! Yay! No more overdone autocorrect on an iPad! So enjoy! I've been working so hard on this chapter. It was really difficult to make a final decision. So yeah.**

It was Wednesday and Setsuna hasn't been in class. Syo noticed she wasn't there on Monday, but he didn't think much about it. Now that two days have passed without seeing her, he was a little more worried. When the school bell rang for the end of the day, Syo had his mind set on asking Eriko. He's seen the girl with Setsuna before, so he assumed that she probably knew something about where she was. He left the classroom as soon as the bell rang Syo exited the classroom. He saw the auburn haired girl leave the A-Classroom.

"Hey, you."

She turned to him in confusion. "You mean me?"

"You're Nakamura, right? And you know Nishima?"

Eriko nodded. "Sure do. I'm her roommate and best friend," she said proudly.

"Listen, I-I saw Nishima on Sunday, but—"

"— she ran away? I know. You wanna know something, don't you?"

"Uh… kinda…" Syo followed beside her as she walked. "W-where is she? Is Nishima okay?"

"Yup. She had a fever because she lost her umbrella somewhere near the train station here."

"S-so she was in the rain from there back to the dorms?"

"Yeah, so she's in the dorm right now. She said she still didn't feel good enough to go this morning, even though her fever is pretty much gone." Eriko looked at him with a grin. "Does that answer everything?"

"O… One more question. Why does she run away from me?" Syo asked hesitantly.

The grin on her face slowly faded into a wavering expression as she looked at everyone passing them. "I… I can't say it here." Eriko took his hand and led him to an empty practice room. She sat down on the piano bench, and Syo pulled up a chair in front of her.

"So… what is it?"

"Can you keep a secret?" she asked seriously.

"Of course I can."

"Then believe me when I saw she has a small abnormal fear of men."

He was surprised. Syo always thought Setsuna was shy or just hated him altogether. The fact that it was fear never crossed his mind.

"It's not something she really likes about herself, obviously. In fact, she's ashamed of it. So, Setsuna decided to cure it."

"I-If it's a fear of men, then why isn't she afraid of Natsuki or Shin?"

"Well, at first, Setsuna was scared of Shin, but now it's just shyness. Natsuki doesn't scare her at all, so she's just shy around him too."

"And me?"

"Um… You intimidate her. Like, a lot."

"So, that's why…" Slowly, everything was making sense. Syo knew that Satsuki scared almost everyone he met. _So Nishima probably couldn't take being with two people that freak her out. _"Oh, shit, she doesn't know about Satsuki!" he exclaimed without thought.

"S-sorry, but who?" Eriko cocked her head curiously.

"Oh…" Syo told Eriko everything about what happened on Sunday and about Natsuki and Satsuki. "Nishima and Natsuki are good friends. I don't want them to stop talking because of a misunderstanding. Do you think you can tell Nishima, Nakamura?"

"S-sure, I don't mind… But do you understand the situation, right? You, I, and Miura-kun are the only people who know, so please don't tell anyone for Setsuna's sake, okay?"

"I promise I won't," he swore as he stood up from his chair. "Thanks."

* * *

Syo didn't realize that his bag was forgotten and walked back to the classroom to retrieve it. On the way there, he saw Ryuya leaving the classroom.

"Kurusu, what is it?" he asked when he saw Syo.

"O-oh, I just came 'cause I forgot my bag," he answered.

Ryuya nodded and passed him. When Syo opened the door to the room, he saw Setsuna inside, in front of the teacher's desk as she looked over the papers in her hands. She looked a little tired and different with her hair down instead of in two low pigtails (she was too tired to tie her hair). He assumed that it was the homework she missed while she was out.

He opened his mouth to call out to her, but he remembered that he was scared of him and closed it. By the time he made up his mind to quietly get his things, Syo saw that Setsuna already noticed him. "O-oh, sorry, Nishima. I, um, just came to get my things."

She nervously avoided eye contact and forced herself to stay in place. Syo walked to his seat and picked up his back. Neither of them attempted to break the silence. But Syo needed his to tell her.

"N… Nishima, Nakamura told me that you're scared of men. I-Is that true?" he asked carefully.

"E-Eriko-san did?" she stuttered with a bit of curiosity as she put her homework down.

"Yeah…" He walked over to her warily. "Do you feel uncomfortable talking to me?"

She didn't hesitate to nod and back up a little.

"Okay, then… Y-you remember what happened on Sunday… That guy wasn't Natsuki."

She was obviously confused about what he said.

"Well… you see… when Natsuki doesn't have glasses on, he turns into this violent, aggressive guy called Satsuki. To get Natsuki back, you just gotta put some glasses back on him. Natsuki doesn't remember anything when Satsuki comes out, so we can't say anything about what Satsuki did." He scratched his neck, trying to think of what else to tell her. "Don't avoid Natsuki because of Satsuki, 'kay? If his glasses ever come off, you can call me and I'll get Natsuki back."

She nodded, fumbling with her hair.

"Well, it's getting late. See you, Nishima." Syo turned around and walked to the door as he sighed dejectedly. _Alright, from here on out, I'll give her some spa—_

_Smack!_

"H-hey, what was that for?!" He spun around and saw a right foot shoe on the floor. Syo looked up to Setsuna, who was giving him a determined but slightly nervous look. "Nishima?"

She jumped and started twiddling with a lock of hair. "W-well… I-I…"

_What is it?_

"I-I'm sorry…!" she blurted.

"W-wha—?"

Setsuna's eyes darted around for an answer. "I-I'm sorry for hitting you just n-now a-and I'm sorry for r-running all the time. A-and I'm sorry for never g-getting to know y-you, K-Kurusu-kun…" She balanced herself on her left foot. "I-I sw-swear I've been trying t-to get used to t-talking to g-guys like you. I-It's just… h-hard s-since I've only been practicing with Sh-Shin, N-Natsuki-kun and others. Y-y-you always c-catch me off guard and I-I'm never m-mentally ready, so I end up r-running away…"

Although she was soft-spoken, Syo could hear Setsuna perfectly. He was left speechless. She was trying this hard to speak to him. After everything she said, Setsuna flushed beet red up to her ears, picked up her homework and quickly walked past Syo, who gave her the shoe.

He smiled. _Thank god it didn't end there… _

**Honestly, I don't know what I wanna do in the next chapter. I'm still debating on everything. I'm really hoping I choose soon…**


	9. Making Progress

**Yeah, so school's here for me and I already have a ton of homework stacked up. I'm sorry for slow updates ahead of time.  
**

"So you know about Setsuna's fear, Syo?" Shinnosuke asked. He, Eriko and Syo met up afterschool upon Syo's request.

"Yup, and if it's okay, I'd like to help you out with curing Nishima," Syo replied.

"Great!" Eriko chirped. "You'd be a great help, Kurusu-kun!"

"Yeah, I was thinking of asking you, but Setsuna just wouldn't agree," Shinnosuke said.

"So, where is she?"

"I think she's composing her song for that assignment you guys were paired up for," he answered.

"That's a great place to start!" Eriko said gleefully. "Why don't you accompany her there?"

"Sure, I don't mind," he answered with a smile. Syo felt a little giddy to meet up with her.

"Oh, Syo, make sure you knock before you do anything else. If she doesn't know you're coming, she'll freak out on the inside and run," Shinnosuke reminded. "And if she does run, call us."

He nodded and headed off to the practice rooms. Syo looked around, and eventually heard Setsuna talking to herself in one, but still felt hesitant to actually see her. As hesitant as he was, he remembered to knock on the door like Shinnosuke said. "N-Nishima, it's Syo. Can I come in?" He heard a faint okay from her and opened the door. "Hey," he greeted.

Setsuna nodded and gave him a quick glance when he stood beside the bench. Her phone vibrated in her bag. She pulled it out and read the new message.

**From: Eriko**

**Kurusu-kun is comin. Don't run or else.**

"Who is it?" Syo asked.

"I-It's just Eriko-san." Setsuna turned to him and saw that he sat himself right beside her. Quickly she looked back to the staff paper. _Of all days..._

"So how far have you gotten?"

"U-um… a-almost h-half."

"And I start singing here, don't I?" He pointed at a measure of the music and saw a nod from her. "Can I hear it from the beginning?"

"I-It's still not done, though…"

"I know. I wanna get a preview so I can write some good lyrics." He grinned confidently. "They gotta be worthy for one of your songs."

Setsuna's hands shook in her lap. She wanted to get over this fear, but it was a surprise when Syo knocked. She raised her hands after she stopped most of the shaking and played. There were mistakes here and there, but Syo knew what she meant to do.

"It sounds really cool, Nishima!" he complemented when she finished playing what she had.

"U-um…" She looked down at her lap shyly. She later took her pencil, and drew a couple of measures for the melody line. She later took her pencil, and drew a couple of measures for the melody.

"_Walls towering higher and higher, with cliffs on either side…," _he sang slowly.

"Eh?" Setsuna put the pencil down and looked at him in confusion.

He smiled at her with embarrassment. This was the first time he sang with only Setsuna around. "How was that? Are those lyrics okay?"

She nodded, obviously delighted to hear it. Syo took the pencil and wrote the lyrics down on his incomplete sheet music which Setsuna showed him.

Syo saw a complicated run of measures on the piano score that wasn't on his sheet. "Hey, what's that?" He pointed at it.

"O-oh, um… I-I was thinking of adding a-another instrument to a-add. I-I was thinking a-along the lines of a v-violin or something…"

His ears perked up when he heard her say violin. "D-do you think I could play it?"

She looked surprised. "Y-You play violin, Kurusu-kun?"

"Yeah, I did a lot of violin concours a while back. So what do you say, Nishima?" He had a glimmer of eagerness in his eyes when he looked at her.

"She quietly nodded and told him that he would give him some sheet music another time. The two worked for a while, giving Syo enough time to write some more lyrics and Setsuna time to nearly finish the song. She still had the final chords and violin solos left along with the arrangement.

"Well, it's getting late, so I'm gonna head to the cafeteria," Syo said, standing up and going towards the door. He took the door handle, but turned back around. "Hey, you wanna come with me?" he offered.

"N-no, I-I-I'm okay," Setsuna refused politely with her back to him, picking up her bag.

"Nishima, you came back from being sick and you're not gonna eat?" he chuckled. "I don't think that's healthy."

"I-I'll go to the cafeteria l-later."

"Alright, then see you there." He left the room.

When he left, Setsuna covered her face with her hands and groaned. "I thought he'd never leave!" he muttered into them.

Even though she finally could talk to him, she was still uncomfortable being so close to him. Every time they touched shoulders, she would quickly distance herself a little more from him. Setsuna still couldn't look at Syo in the eye. She knew he was gone, but she felt as if he was still there beside him. It made her feel a little self-conscious. She looked at the sheet of paper that had Syo's lyrics in his handwriting, sighing as she put it in a folder and into her bag.

"I can't take anymore of Kurusu-kun…" _But he is a really good singer…_

**~~Later at Night~~**

"Syo-chan, you look happy," Natsuki said.

"Yeah, Nishima's my partner for an assignment," he replied with a little bit of a bragging tone. "We met up to practice together.

"Oh! That _is _a reason to be happy! Secchan makes wonderful music! Does that mean you got to talk to her as Syo-chan and not Yui-chan?"

"Of course I was! I was an undeniable man when she saw me!" He crossed his arms and plopped himself on his bed.

"Aw, I was hoping I could see more Yui-chan..." Natsuki pouted in disappointment.

"Shut up, Natsuki! I'm a guy!"

"A boy that would look adorable as a girl," he chirped.

"Gah, that's it, I'm going to bed!" Syo threw the covers over himself and lied down. He smiled to himself underneath the blanket. He couldn't wait for the recording now.

**Who hates going to school? I do!  
**


	10. Overnight Summer Trip

**Hey everyone! Sorry for not being here so much. I'm in my school's marching band and every week, I'm out until nine at night or even 12 at midnight for games. So it really takes a toll on my grades. So last week, I dedicated the majority of my time to my studies. **

* * *

Everyone in Saotome Academy was on planes heading to Shining Saotome's private island. Syo, Setsuna and Shin were together in a row with Syo at the window, Setsuna in the middle and Shin at the end.

Shin laughed at the sleeping Setsuna. "Nakamura told me she falls asleep easily on plane rides."

Syo turned his head to immediately blush at the sight. Her head was down, pointed to her lap, where her hands were neatly folded. He could hear her light breaths.

"You really get along well with Nishima, right?"

"Well, I have a little sister, and Setsuna reminds me of her. So I guess it's easy for me to be around her." He looked up after putting a blanket around her. "What about you, Syo? How is it with you and Nishima?"

He gave a disappointed look. "Not well, actually. After recording _Changing Our Song_, she started avoiding me again. I've tried talking to her, but she just says something quickly and walks away."

Shin's eyes widened. "Really? Do you want me to ask her for you?"

"Y-you don't have to."

"Yeah, maybe you can ask her as Yui," he teased.

Syo blushed and tried to hush Shin. "H-h-hey, N-Nishima may still be conscious, Shin!"

The flight attendant made the announcement to take their seat since the plane was about to descend. Shin gently shook Setsuna's shoulder with only two shakes before she opened her eyes. While Shin was talking with her, Syo turned back to the window.

"Hey, Shin, look!" Setsuna leaned towards Syo, looking at the island that was approaching. She was so excited when she saw the view, she didn't mind the small distance from Syo. She didn't hear Syo's heartbeat or see his flushed face.

Shin chuckled a bit at his expression and leaned in a bit too. "It really does look like paradise, right Syo?"

That was when Setsuna noticed Syo. She turned to Syo, locked eyes for three seconds before gasping and pulling back to Shin. "I-I-I'm sorry, K-K-K-Kurusu-kun!"

"N-nah, it's nothing…" He averted his eyes and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. It was already obvious to Shin that Syo was too embarrassed to talk anymore.

The plane eventually landed and everyone exited with their luggage in hand. The teachers explained to the students, when everyone was down, that the goal of this overnight trip was to find a partner for the graduation audition. But really, all everyone thought about was what games they'd play once they were dismissed.

After the dismissal, Setsuna and Eriko put their bags down at their cottage and changed into something more comfortable for the weather. Setsuna wore a sundress with a swimsuit underneath and her hair up in a ponytail. Eriko dressed in a pair of denim shorts with her bikini. Once they were set, the two walked outside.

"You really feel refreshed in this weather, huh?" Eriko sighed as she stretched her arms over her head. "Hey, why don't we get some smoothies and sit over there?" she asked, pointing at a table that was under the shade of an umbrella.

Setsuna agreed and offered to save the spot for them. Eriko came back in a couple of minutes with a strawberry, banana and papaya smoothie for Setsuna and a mango, orange and kiwi smoothie for herself. As the two talked, Syo ran up to them, out of breath. The boy was wet with both water and a little sweat.

"Whoa! Kurusu-kun, what happened to you?" Eriko laughed.

As a reply, Syo breathed, "I swam and ran in this race on the beach with some guys."

"How'd it go?"

"First place!" he said in a proud tone as he sat down on a chair. "But, damn, I'm beat!"

Shyly and with her usual blush spread on her cheeks, Setsuna held out her smoothie to him. "W-would you like s-some?" She averted her eyes. "I-I-It's really re-refreshing, so if you're tired…"

He made sure to smile to let her know her know he meant to harm and took the drink from her hand. "Thanks, Nishima."

Setsuna left for a second to get a towel for Syo, no matter how much he said he was okay. While she was away, Syo took a drink from the offered smoothie, which Eriko laughed at.

"W-what're you laughing at?" he grumbled, setting it back on the table.

She laughed a little more before singing teasingly, "Indirect kiss~"

He remained confused a little longer before looking at the straw and flushing. "S-shut it, o-okay? She offered to let me have a bit, s-so there!"

"K-Kurusu-kun, here's a towel," Setsuna said, taking her seat again and holding it out for him.

"T-thanks!" he blurted, putting the drink in front of her and taking the towel. Syo put it over his head and tossed his wet hair around with it in any way he could to cover his red face.

Setsuna asked Eriko in a whisper, "Is Kurusu-kun acting weird?" She didn't get an answer. All she got was an outburst of laughter from her. Her eyebrows came together in confusion as she sipped from the straw without a clue.

The action didn't escape Syo's sight. As soon has her lips met the end of the straw, he slammed his towel to his face again. His blush reached his ears and neck. "S-stop laughing, Nakamura!" he stuttered in a muffled voice.

"K-kurusu-kun, have you chosen a p-partner?" Setsuna asked quietly.

_Oh, good, _he thought. _A change in subject. _"Y-yeah, I have. And you guys?"

"I'm gonna partner with Shin," Eriko said, wiping a tear from her eye and getting a glare from Syo.

"Nishima?" He was somewhat nervous to hear the name, especially nervous to hear if it was a boy or a girl.

"Mizuno Teru-kun."

The name hit him like a ton of bricks. Teru was in S-Class with some top-notch grades. Syo talked to him once in a while and he was genuinely nice to anyone. He heard that Teru couldn't keep a grudge against anyone and almost all the girls he's met have fallen for his "prince-like" aura.

Teru was a perfect match for Setsuna, and it pissed Syo off more than anything.

* * *

While Eriko was sleeping, Setsuna just couldn't sleep when there was a better view of the sky. But also, she felt slightly worried. Even though she and Teru decided to become partners, she didn't have a clue of what to compose. She put her head down on the table at her cottage's patio with her arms folded under her head.

"Nishima?"

Setsuna looked down as her eyes widened. "Kurusu-kun?"

On the sand was Kurusu Syo with his hands on the wooden rail that was separating them. "What're you doing up so late? Couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head when it was lifted from her arms. "What about you, K-Kurusu-kun?"

He smiled. "Just out for a walk." He thought for a second. "Hey… can I sit with you? I wanna talk for a sec." Setsuna nodded and he jumped over with ease. He took his seat and thought about what to say. "I've been thinking… we're friends, right?"

Quickly, Setsuna said, "Y-yeah, we are!"

"Great." _At least I know you're not just letting my hopes down._ "But… I don't know much about you, Nishima. And you don't know much about me, right?"

"R-right."

"All I know is that you're scared of men, your name and you're aiming to compose. What do you know about me?"

"U-Um… your name, you play violin and you want to be an idol," she said quietly, hoping she wasn't wrong. "O-oh, and Natsuki-kun said you were a ts…" She said the last part quietly.

"I'm a what? What did Natsuki say about me?" He felt a vein pop.

"_Y-You're a tsundere…,"_ she whispered.

"T-That bastard!" he growled, clenching a fist. Syo realized that Setsuna was shaking and he laughed it off and unclenched his fist. "R-right, see? We don't know much about each other. So I thought maybe we could introduce ourselves a little better if you don't mind. I just don't want to guess anything about you. That way, we won't have any misunderstandings."

"I-I don't mind...," she said unsurely.

He grinned. "Then I'll start. I'm Kurusu Syo, born on June 9th and fifteen right now. I have a younger twin brother named Kaoru and two parents. My mom works overseas as an orchestral conductor and my dad is a stylist at Shining Agency. When I was younger, my body was weak and the doctors at the hospital expected me to live till the age of twelve. My idol is Hyuga-sensei, and I wanted to be strong like him. So I took up karate, made my heart stronger and lived longer than my life expectancy."

Setsuna saw the look on Syo's face that told her that he was waiting for her to say something. "U-um… I .. I'm Nishima Setsuna. I was born on October 23rd and I'm fifteen. My parents run a bakery and my older brother, R-Ryotaro, is going to inherit it. M-my parents told me that I have my grandfather's musicality when I started playing cello around four years old. I started composing when I was seven."

"Really?!" Syo was shocked at the statement.

Setsuna stammered, "W-well, I mean, i-it was a simple melody that I t-took a liking to! I-I've been editing and adding chords to it since then."

"You definitely gotta let me hear it one day, alright?" He gave her his most charming grin.

A surge went down Setsuna's spine as her face flushed. She knew that it wasn't fear she felt through her bones. It was as if the fear subsided and was switched with a different, unexplainable feeling. All she could manage to go was nod.

"Is that song special to you?"

"Y-Yeah before I left home m-my grandfather gave me this r-really nice music box that played that song. I-If you'd like, I-I can show it to you when we get b-back to the campus."

His eyes glimmered with excitement and child-like wonder. "Really? Is that alright?"

"O-Of course, Kurusu-kun. We're friends."

He smiled. "I can't wait to get back now!" Syo didn't realize that his voice was over the low volume they were retaining and covered his mouth. He whispered," It's getting late. We need to go to bed. If you stay out here, Nishima, you might fall asleep and catch a cold."

Setsuna and Syo stood from their seats. "Good night, Kurusu-kun," Setsuna said.

Syo gave her hair a quick ruffle and said, "Good night, Nishima," before jumping over the rail one again. The two didn't realize that Eriko was trying to hold in all her giggles from inside the cottage.

_Those lovebirds…_


End file.
